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April 22, 2012

Safe Haven - Good Friends Make Crap Roommates

[...Posted by Ted H]

...Oh Jesus, Blogger updated. Now everything is unfamiliar and different. At least they didnt change the locks on me. Safe Haven is leading up to a climax of sorts...not THE climax, but ya know, act 1 or something...Buckle up for that end....then OurTown2 should finally be over...
...sweet Jesus, I can schedule posts? Oh baby!

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Kate walked up to an old set of townhouses. The ground floor windows were well boarded up to where even sunlight couldn’t get through. It was regarded as one of the safest places in Safe Haven in the early days, back when the undead still were finding their ways in. The only way in or out was the one door, unless you count the second floor windows. The third house on the left was the one Kate was heading for, Laura’s house. The steps leading up to it had long ago crumbled and Kate made sure to watch her step as she went for the front door and knocked.

A couple seconds passed as Kate heard movement behind the front door, so she smiled in front of the peep hole. She remembered one time long ago she had knocked and then covered up the peep hole as a joke, only to have John throw open the door with a shotgun in hand, ready to blow her away. She never tried that again.

A moment passed before Kate heard the sounds of a couple dead bolts clicking, then the door swung open to reveal Laura. Everyone had changed one way or another in the thirteen years since making the trip to Safe Haven, but Laura had been the most dramatic change of all. Since entering Safe Haven, Laura had dropped over a hundred pounds and was merely skin and bones. She was always known for her long dyed-red hair, but now it was cut and back to her natural brunette. Still, she was the one who always said that no matter how much you change, your past is always right beside you.

Laura opened her door and motioned Kate to go inside. The row of townhouses contained at least four people each inside at any point in time. Laura lived with three other men, one of which who worked with John with shipments so Kate knew she could trust Cayra here. “Everyone else is asleep,” Laura said as they walked into the kitchen and saw Cayra sitting at the table, cup in hand. “Any word from John?” she asked.

Kate shook her head. She didn’t bother checking back at his apartment yet and no one had paid her a visit either. She didn’t want to accept it yet, but John was probably dead. “I need help moving his shipment,” she said to Laura. “What are you moving?” she asked.

“Guns.”

“Shit, just get Anderson to move them. That’s what John always had him do.”

“I’d rather you come with me.”

“I though you wanted me to keep an eye on Cayra?”

“She’s a big girl. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”

“Then why’d you send her here.”

“I don’t know. I panicked.”

“What’s wrong with Anderson?”

“He’s John’s guy. I don’t know him. How can I trust him?”

“I fucking live with the guy. He’s cool. I’ll go get him.”

“Just…whatever, fine.”

“Why you gotta do that?”

“Do what?”

“Stop being a bitch. Anderson knows what he’s doing.”

“I said fine…”

Laura stormed off and went upstairs to wake Anderson. Kate caught Cayra shaking her head. “Shut up,” she said as Cayra shrugged. “I almost forgot why I moved out,” Kate said as she sat down next to Cayra. Her, John, Cayra and Laura lived together in the townhouse when they first got to Safe Haven. They wanted Patrick to live there as well, but he insisted on doing his own thing in the church. There was also Amber and Jake, but Amber had been infected and crawled into a hole to die without hurting anybody and Jake up and left Safe Haven on his own volition. Nobody talks about either one of them anymore anyway.

Time wore on though and Kate and Laura would clash more and more to the point where Kate insisted she was better off on her own. John left so he could run Rogues shipments more efficiently in his new location, plus he would have a larger place to his self. Cayra leaving was the most awkward, since neither she nor Laura really wanted her to leave. The townhouse had become an easy storage location for various bits of contraband, even more so when Anderson moved in and started helping John out, and Laura knew that everyone living there would be punished if any of the contraband was ever discovered. So she insisted Cayra leave since she had nothing to do with distributing the contraband anyway.

The irony was not lost on anyone that now the safest place in the world for Cayra was now the townhouse. Kate pondered that fact as Anderson and Laura walked into the kitchen. Anderson was a tall, medium build black man who always wore the same white rag on his head, and only wore wife beaters. One look in his bedroom would yield no red flags, but he has enough hidden weapons in there it would make a gun nut blush. He knew his weapons, and was the only person John trusted to work them out to the general public of Safe Haven, which meant that there was no one else Kate could trust more.

“Where’s John?” he asked as Kate put her head down and shrugged. “Last I saw him he had ResEs chasing him, but I’m not sure,” she said as Anderson shook his head. “Let’s head to his place, ok?” he said as he turned and headed for the door. “No,” Kate said “First I wanna check on the weapons shipment. That’s why you’re even here.”

“That’s not what we’re gonna do,” Anderson said as he exited. Kate was annoyed. John never really commanded respect, but people such as Anderson never second guessed him. She was in charge now, but so far no one wanted to recognize that. “Just go check on John,” Laura said, seemingly now convinced there was nothing wrong with John, and that Kate was just acting out again. “You would side with him,” Kate said as she stormed out after Anderson. People wanted to take charge instead of following, fine. But she still had the map, and she wasn’t letting anyone else near it.